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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPublic Works September 10 20131P1 WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL 20 Public Works, Health, and Safety Committee 30 40 September 10, 2013 5P1 60 CALL TO ORDER 7P1 8M Committee Chair Barbara Brenner called the meeting to order at 12:00 p.m. in the 91a Council Chambers, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, Washington. 10PI 11M P1 120 ROLL CALL 13P] 14M (12:03:03 PM) 150 161a Present: Barbara Brenner, Ken Mann and Pete Kremen. 171N Absent: None. 180 Also Present: Carl Weimer. 19r?] 20P] 210 COMMITTEE DISCUSSION 22P] 23M 1. RESOLUTION APPROVING THE WHATCOM COUNTY SIX -YEAR 240 TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM FOR THE YEARS 2014 25M THROUGH 2019 (AB2013 -302) 26P] 270 Joe Rutan, Public Works Department, gave a staff report and stated staff will develop 281N an annual program and the budget after this resolution is approved. Last year Council 290 added Bridge 172 on Marine Drive, over the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad. This 30M year $30,000 is budgeted for a structural analysis to possibly add bicycle and pedestrian 31M facilities. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee and City of Bellingham are 320 developing a trail to go around the bridge. The $30,000 budgeted for structural analysis 33M should go toward construction and operation of that trail. This expense will result in the 341N County actually getting something. The analysis was just going to let them know how to 350 add the facility and what the cost would be. This provides a non - motorized alternative 36M around the bridge. 371?1 380 Brenner stated it would be a lot less expensive to do that. 39P1 40M Rutan stated he emailed comments from the Bellingham School District and the City 410 of Ferndale. 42P] 43M Kremen stated he's concerned about the Yew Street and Slater Road projects. 440 They've talked about extending Slater Road all the way to the Mount Baker Highway for 45M years. Rutan described the history of the Slater Road connector project. The project came 461a off the program in 2004 because of the neighbors on Klein Road and Kelly Road. There 470 were also issues with constructability of the road and lack of right -of -way. Since then, 48M Horton Road has been the County's focus for an east -west connection, in conjunction with 491a the City of Bellingham Horton Road project from Cordata to Aldrich Road. The County 500 would continue the connection from Aldrich Road to Northwest Road. 51M 521a Brenner asked the mileage if Slater Road goes straight through to the Guide 530 Meridian. Rutan stated the distance is almost exactly two miles. The County's section of Public Works, Health, and Safety Committee, 9/10/2013, Page 1 ❑r 1E Horton Road is about �Y4 of a mile. Horton Road is farther south and would be a better 20 connection to the Cordata area. 30 41M Brenner stated that may be fine for Bellingham. She's thinking of people who come 51] from around the county. 60 71M Kremen stated he anticipates significant retail development at Slater Road, west of 8M Interstate 5, which will generate a tremendous volume of traffic. It seems natural for that 91] to be a high priority. Regarding Yew Street, it has an elementary school and will likely 101M become an area with a significant amount of increased residential development. Many 111] people use Yew Street Road instead of Lakeway Street to connect with Interstate 5. The 121a volume of traffic on that road will continue to increase. He has the same concerns as the 13M school district and City of Ferndale. Rutan stated that project was on the six -year program, 14M but the Council voted it off. 151] 16M Kremen stated there is a different Council now. These two projects are important. 170 Rutan stated he is also concerned about development at Slater Road. They will address 18M those concerns over the next few years. 19r?] 200 Jack Louws, County Executive, stated he's talked with staff about the Slater Road 21M connector. The two mile stretch will probably be one of the most expensive roads the 22M County would ever build based on existing topography and wetlands. The alternative is to 230 improve the Pacific Highway, work with the State on Interstate 5 accesses, and new traffic 24M signalization or a roundabout at Northwest Road and Slater Road. It's a little over a mile to 25M where Horton Road will come through. Install a traffic circle or some other mechanism to 260 divert traffic to the backside of Bellingham. Vehicles would be able to come to Smith Road 27M and then Northwest Road, or come across Horton Road onto Northwest Road. It would 28M divert some of the traffic both from the north and south throughout that area. That burdens 290 the County with a -'4 mile stretch of road to build in an area that is not as expensive to 30M build. The City of Bellingham, until a few months ago, spent $300,000 on preliminary 310 design of their extension of Horton Road over to Aldrich Road. He was disappointed to learn 32M the City put a hold on that project and has diverted efforts to the road system more 33M adjacent to where the new Costco may be off of Bakerview Road. It will be included as a 340 priority. Without doing more cost analysis or committing to fund a full two miles of road, be 35M cautious of putting this on the plan. 361?1 37M Brenner stated the County should have the Slater Road extension on the plan with 38M Horton Road. It would allow them to have more specific estimates of the right -of -way the 39M County would have to buy and the impact to wetlands. Have the project on the program so 400 they can do the analysis. It won't necessarily be a high priority. Rutan showed the options 41M on a projected map. 421?1 430 Brenner stated that the additional road efficiency of extending Slater Road would 44M benefit many people north of Smith Road. Horton Road isn't a straight road and wouldn't be 45M great for truck traffic unless the City does a lot of expansion with it. Rutan stated that when 460 the project was removed from the plan, there were comments on investing in an east -west 47M corridor one mile south of the already- constructed County east -west corridor. 481] 490 Weimer asked if there is still any discussion of an intersection at Smith Road and 50M Interstate 5. The east -west corridor got put in the wrong place. Rutan stated that is a 51M State Department of Transportation (DOT) issue. They say an intersection would be too 52M close to the other two existing intersections. They are concerned about all the on- and off- Public Works, Health, and Safety Committee, 9/10/2013, Page 2 1] 1E ramps. The State may be more interested if the County came forward with money, but the 20 design would be odd due to the lanes being too close. 30 4M Kremen stated this may not be a County project, but every City project has 5M ramifications on the County. He's very concerned about a Costco development on 60 Bakerview Road, projected increases in use at the airport, new hotels in the area, and more 7M stores near Costco. That overpass is already a limiting factor. The federal government will 8M not increase capacity on that overpass, which needs at least one more lane on both sides. 91a Rutan stated that concern is the same with Slater Road. 10r?] 11m Kremen stated that's why Slater Road is a high priority. 12P] 131M Brenner stated she would like to have a conversation with someone from the DOT. 140 151M Rutan stated the City of Ferndale made a another comment and approved a 161M resolution to include the Port of Bellingham extension of Kope Road to Mitchell Road, east of 17M the freeway. The County proposal is to let the Port analyze the project. There are concerns 18M about proximity to the freeway and airport. Based on the outcome of the study, he would 191M talk to the Port about whether it's appropriate for the County to put that project on the 200 program. 21P] 22P] Mann stated he appreciates having this comprehensive look at the map. It will take 230 more than one committee meeting to discuss all the projects in this area. If they're talking 24M about locating Costco or another big box store within a city, county residents would be 25M unwilling to contribute. He hopes that's also part of the conversation. The Kope Road 260 extension has to happen. He hopes they can do something there. He asked if the County 27M approved some Economic Development Investment (EDI) program money for the Bakerview 28M Road overpass channelization program. Rutan stated they spent a year looking at different 290 options. The chosen solution was to have two westbound lanes. They got the extra lane by 30M removing pedestrian facilities on only one side of the bridge. That was the DOT and City's 310 chosen option. The option that really solved the issues cost too much money. The County 322 provided about $200,000 because a portion of the project is in the county. He doesn't know 331N the City's funding sources. 340 352 Mann stated the County doesn't have transportation impact fees. The cities of 36M Ferndale and Bellingham do. 370 382 Kremen stated the City of Ferndale has a problem with access to and from downtown 39M Ferndale already. One viable alternate way of getting into Ferndale is Slater Road. The 400 option should be improved and pursued. The County Council represents all county 41M residents. There aren't many viable routes to get to and from Ferndale. That is one option. 42M Slater Road needs to be a higher priority. 430 44M Cleo Callen stated put the Slater Road project on the plan so it can be studied. That 4517 road will be the easiest road to build, but wetlands may be another issue. One way around 460 wetland issues would be to contribute to the Tribe's wetland mitigation bank. The DOT is 47M looking at this entire corridor. Get the DOT into the conversation. Put it on the plan. He 482 also encourages the Kope Road extension. 490 50M Gary Jenson, City of Ferndale Mayor, stated they must work together. The DOT has 5117 not said the Smith Road intersection isn't an option. The DOT will do any improvement if 52M someone pays for it. The City of Ferndale's comments in the environmental impact 53M statement (EIS) about where Costco goes insists that Bellingham acknowledge that Slater Public Works, Health, and Safety Committee, 9/10/2013, Page 3 P1 1E Road be the backdoor to that development. Any development at that location will put more 20 pressure on Slater Road. The Slater Road interchange is failing now. Recognize that in the 30 future, more pressure will be put on Slater Road, and they'll have to address the situation. 41M The Horton Road extension may be a cheaper solution, but it puts a Band -Aid on the 5M problem. The Lummi Nation master plan is to realign their development and limit the 60 portion of the Kope Road extension in front of Slater Road, so they get more land closer to 71M Slater Road and use Rural Road. The DOT, County, and cities of Bellingham and Ferndale 8M will have to have many future meetings about Smith Road. 9r?] 10r?] Mann asked the location of the front door to Costco. Jensen stated Bakerview Road 11M will be the main entrance. Large retailers don't want to acknowledge the Canadian market. 121a However, all those people come from the north via Slater Road. 13P] 140 Mann asked if Pacific Highway is another route into the development. Jensen stated 15M that Canadians coming from the north will drive down to Slater Road to the Pacific Highway. 16M The Bakerview exit is even worse. 170 18F?] Mann stated they're talking about ways to avoid Bakerview Road altogether. Jensen 19M stated that's correct. The City of Bellingham design is that the Pacific Highway will cease to 200 exist, and the intersection with Bakerview Road will be eliminated. 21F?1 22M Rutan described the City's plan on the map. 230 24P] Mann asked if the Slater Road extension eastward does not address the Costco 25E development. Jensen stated that is correct. It does not. 260 27M Brenner stated that route wouldn't just serve Canadians. It would also serve county 280 residents in the outlying cities. 290 30M Weimer stated Whatcom County doesn't have impact fees. It looks like a lot of this 310 rearrangement is to benefit retail development in the cities of Ferndale and Bellingham. He 32M asked how they can use those fees to help the County pay for county projects. Jensen 33M stated a large part of Slater Road is within the city of Ferndale. The discussion with the City 340 of Bellingham is that the City must recognize the impacts to the County and the City of 35M Ferndale. The City of Ferndale dramatically raised its impact fees at Axton Road and Slater 36M Road when it realized the results of the traffic study. 370 38M Mann asked if raising the impact fees killed all proposals. Jensen stated raising the 39M fees on Axton Road hurts the small town local business person, not the national chains and 400 franchises. Local business people will rent their spaces near Costco instead of buying. 41P] 42M Weimer stated this may benefit the Lummi Nation also. He asked if there have been 430 conversation with them. Jensen stated there have been conversations, and they know they 44M will have to contribute. 4517 460 Brenner stated efforts to benefit retail will also benefit people. Retail is not a bad 47M thing. 4817 490 Weimer stated most communities try to share the burden with the retail people who 50M benefit. 51P] 52M Brenner stated that if Costco moves, Costco must help pay for this. 53M Public Works, Health, and Safety Committee, 9/10/2013, Page 4 P1 1m Louws stated that the County doesn't have impact fees. However, a developer must 20 mitigate any traffic impacts to the County according to the State Environmental Policy Act 30 (SEPA). The County must spend that money within six years. 4 P 5M Rutan stated they will get more information from extended traffic studies done by 60 Costco, which he requires of them. He challenged their initial study, which said that a new 71] Costco development would create an impact of only 30 cars at peak hour. He also asked 8M them to analyze more intersections. 9r?] 10M Steve Moore stated he's a commercial real estate broker who works in that area. 11M People will find their way to get around congested traffic areas. There are three residences 121a between the end of Slater Road to the Guide Meridian. He's had meetings with the Lummi 13M Nation, City of Ferndale, the Port of Bellingham airport, and now the County to bring 14M everyone together. Everyone he's spoken to agrees that the solution is obvious. The Kope 15M Road, Rural Road, and LaBounty Road area will be on the Port's master plan. One of their 16M questions was who is going to pay for it. He suggested they figure out if they can do it 170 before worrying about who will pay for it. The Port provided a scoping document that 18M enables someone to look at the area. The only issue is with the Federal Aviation 19M Administration (FAA) regarding a 122 foot long tunnel that will go along the northeast 200 corner of the runway. However, they showed the FAA those types of tunnels are already 21M done around the United States and around the world. There is a company that only works 22M with airports to install those tunnels or overpasses. 230 24F?I Mann asked what was Mr. Callen's interest in the area. Moore described the Callen 250 property on the corner of Slater Road and LaBounty Road. Locating the Slater Road 260 extension straight through is the obvious choice. 27F?I 28M Mann moved to recommend for introduction to the full Council this evening . 290 3017 Brenner moved to recommend that the Council request staff to amend the six -year 310 transportation improvement program (STIP) to add the Slater Road to the Guide Meridian 32M connector project so they can get an analysis of costs. 33F?I 34M The motion carried by the following vote: 35M Ayes: Brenner, Mann and Kremen (3) 36M Nays: None (0) 370 38M Rutan asked where it will be on the plan and the associated funding. He proposes it 39M be project 17 and attach a few thousand dollars as a place holder. 400 41l] Mann stated he wants it before the Horton Road project. 421?1 430 Rutan stated he will include it as project 16 with a $5,000 funding amount. 44F?I 4517 The Committee concurred. 460 47M Kremen referenced the Yew Street Road connector and stated include it in the STIP. 48M The problems with the road are ongoing and increasing. Rutan described problems 490 happening on Yew Street Road, which include the road being windy, bad sight distance, lack 50M of a place to walk, lack of lighting, and very poor drainage. 51l] 52M Mann stated the buses can barely make the turns on much of that road. 53M Public Works, Health, and Safety Committee, 9/10/2013, Page 5 PI 1E Rutan stated that project was voted off the six -year program upon completion of the 20 first phase. When the first phase was completed, there was a lot of discussion about that 30 area as an urban growth area. The Mayor at the time said the City wouldn't annex the area, 41M so the Council backed away from the project. 5F?1 60 Mann stated they realize now that if the County wants those improvements, the 71] County will have to pay for them. 8F?1 91a Brenner asked if the Council of Governments (COG) is discussing it. Rutan stated it 101M is. When built, the road will be built to full urban standards. 11F?1 121a Brenner stated it will be an enormous cost to the County. The City won't annex it for 13M at least ten years so it doesn't have to pay back the County for the upgrades. She doesn't 140 want to do that. She wants to think about it. 15F?1 16F?1 Mann stated it's not a lot different from the Slater Road connector project. It's a 170 high traffic area. It's a connector for folks trying to get to the interstate. It is dangerous as 18M it is. The County represents all county residents, including city residents. It's difficult for 19M him because it's expensive to build there. 200 21M Brenner stated she agrees that the road needs upgrades, but feels differently about 22M the County putting that kind of money into roads without commitment from the City. The 230 County takes care of regional needs. Maybe the County can work with the City to amend 24M City standards in urban growth areas (UGAs). Allow the County to upgrade the road, but 250 not to City standards. 260 27F?1 Mann stated include it on the STIP at a number recommended by Mr. Rutan and 28E assign a placeholder of $5,000 just so they can have the conversation with the City about 290 who would help pay for it. He agrees it may be a deal breaker if the County must improve 30M the road to City standards, but the City will never help pay for it. 310 32M Brenner stated she agrees. 33F?1 340 Kremen moved to recommend to the Council to request that staff amend the STIP 35M to put the Yew Street Road improvements in the six -year plan so they can get an analysis of 36M costs. Insert it on the list as a placeholder with $5,000 to address improvements. Make it 370 item 18. 38F?1 39M The motion carried by the following vote: 401] Ayes: Brenner, Mann and Kremen (3) 41M Nays: None (0) 421?1 430 44M OTHER BUSINESS 451] 460 There was no other business. 47F?] 481] 490 50M 510 52M Public Works, Health, and Safety Committee, 9/10/2013, Page 6 1m 20 30 4R] 5R] 6M 7F?1 8R] 9R] 10PI 1117 1217 13P1 14M 15r?] 1617 17M 181] 19M ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 1:02 p.m. ATTEST: Council Clerk - Minutes Transcription 0 p WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON Barbara Brenner, Committee Chair Public Works, Health, and Safety Committee, 9/10/2013, Page 7